


My Lady

by Necro_Floodwaters



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 02:58:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14661897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Necro_Floodwaters/pseuds/Necro_Floodwaters
Summary: Rachel Landless and Mason Cooper are sent by the Queen to Phantomhive Manor on a mission that only the Earl can help them with. Bodies are vanishing from funeral homes and reappearing weeks later in well-traveled areas, recently dead. Is the Undertaker responsible? Or has another reaper gone off the deep end? Takes place after the events of The Four.





	1. His Lady, Her Butler

**Author's Note:**

> Necro: This is actually a reboot of an older Black Butler story I wrote. So not posting this no here though.

The carriage bumped along the country road, the wheels rattling as they spun, and the horses whinnied softly as they kept up their brisk pace. The driver, a tall man wearing a long black coat and a hat to protect himself from the pouring rain, snapped the reins every time the horses appeared to flag. Inside the midnight blue carriage, a young woman, about twenty-five years old, sat on the matching seats and watched the drops of water on the glass of the window slide down and off. She sighed and switched to the other side of the carriage, something she had done several times already, and turned her gaze towards the window that, when not blocked by the driver, afforded her a view of the front of the carriage and the horses she thought were very beautiful.

The driver was also watching his surroundings, though not out of a desire to view the landscape. They had been riding for most of the day and the rain had only just started half an hour ago, and he was sure that they would have missed it if his mistress had not raised a fair bit of hell when he informed her of just how far their destination was. He despised the rain so very much and if his Lady was not who she was, he would have had something to say to her. He shivered slightly and tried to ignore it, the rain lowering his body temperature, stifling the fire at his core. He hated the rain.

Their destination lay ahead of them, blocked by the sheets of rain, but no less than fifteen minutes away: Phantomhive Manor. Rachel, the lady switching seats in the carriage, had received a letter from the queen, their benefactor, instructing Rachel to meet with the young Earl Phantomhive on a matter concerning the country. What that matter was, Rachel had not discussed with her butler, and driver at the moment. Mason sincerely hoped that none of the luggage tied to the back of the carriage had gotten wet, otherwise he would be spending his night drying every last article, right down to the last sock.

Another few bumps, a little splashed water, and fifteen minutes later Mason reined in the horses in front of the Phantomhive Manor's double, curved staircase that led to the double doors. Mason jumped down from his perch, pulling out the umbrella he kept next to him in case of rain, and moved to pull open the carriage door. Just as his hand touched the handle, Rachel threw open the door and quickly climbed out, ignoring the rain and her butler, who hastened to open the umbrella over her head.

"Ms. Rachel, I would greatly appreciate it if you would at least wait for me to open the umbrella before you exit the carriage," Mason said, trudging along behind his mistress and attempting to keep her covered with the object in question.

"Mason, I am not some delicate...thing like all those other Ladies in England. I am quite capable of taking care of myself." Rachel replied, almost boredly, as she walked up the steps and to the doors. "However, you may knock if you want." A small smirk played across her lips before disappearing.

Mason, for his part, decided against rising to the bait and moved to knock on the door, still holding the umbrella. He moved to his original position when the doors opened, revealing a tall, pale man with long black hair, clearly not properly combed. The man wore the typical butler clothing: a black tailcoat over a white suit, usually covered with a vest, with a black necktie and dress pants. His shoes were polished well enough for Mason and Rachel to make out blurred reflections of themselves.

"Good evening. Lady Landless, I presume? We expected you over an hour ago, so I am afraid that your dinner has gotten cold." The man stepped aside to allow them through, but Mason remained outside. "If you are willing to wait, I can have it warmed up for you."

"That would be excellent. My butler, Mason, will be busy bringing in my luggage, so if you could share me where I will be staying, that would be wonderful." Rachel smiled sweetly at the butler.

"Of course, Lady Landless." The man bowed.

"Thank you, um...my apologies, I didn't think to ask your name." She giggled softly as the butler, whom they both knew to be Sabastian Michaelis, gave her his name and led her off down the hall towards the guest bedrooms.

"Ms. Rachel, you outdo yourself sometimes." Mason muttered as the doors closed and he made his way back to the carriage to gather the luggage. As he was pulling the bags down, which he still firmly believed were purposefully packed with rocks just to annoy him, he spotted a young blonde boy with a straw hat and typical gardener's clothing watching him from a couple yards away. "Ah, excuse me, young man?" Mason called out, waving and smiling at the boy. "Would you mind giving me a hand? It would certainly make this go by easier."

Finn, the young gardener, smiled back and nodded. "If it's ok, I would love to help, sir!" His enthusiasm made Mason's smile broader and he nodded back. Finn grabbed the largest, and heaviest, bags and easily hefted them under his arms. Mason didn't react outside of a very slight widening of his eyes.

"Impressive, boy. Very impressive. I might just have to see about borrowing you during lumber season." Mason chuckled and grabbed the remaining three bags, all of which were small. "My name is Mason." He held out his hand for the other.

"I'm Finnian! It's nice to meet you, Mr. Mason!" Finn smiled, shifting the bags to one hand so he could shake the hand Mason offered.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Finnian." Mason already knew the names, and general personality, of the Phantomhive staff, and he had always liked the sound of Finn. "You don't have to carry this all the way to my Lady's room, but to the servant's entrance would be a big help."

"I don't mind helping you get it all the way there, Mr. Mason. The gardens got rained on while I was working on them." Finn pouted a little as he walked next to the taller man.

"Is that so? I am sorry to hear. I'm sure the garden will be fine in the morning, though a bit damp." Mason led the way up to the servant's entrance, a thankfully clearly visible dark wood door set into the side of the manor. As the two walked, Mason had to resist the urge to raise his external body temperature and drive off the cold slowly creeping into him from the rain. He really did not need to attract attention to himself or his Mistress, especially not from the master of the manor. "You'll have to lead the way once we are inside. I wasn't told where the guest rooms are."

"No problem! But why not ask Mr. Sebastian?" Mason held open the door for Finn and quickly entered after the boy, finding himself inside a well-lit, small antechamber with a coat hanger in one corner and an umbrella holder in another. The room was not decorated but was paneled with some form of brown hardwood that Mason could not identify.

"He went off to show my Lady her room, and though he is likely done with that, I do not wish to trouble him." Mason slipped off his coat and hung it up, making a mental note to return for it later. "Besides, he cannot fault me for asking the nearest readily available servant for assistance, now can he?" Mason quirked an eyebrow at Finn, a small smile playing around his lips.

Finn was about to answer when he noticed what Mason was wearing. "Hey, Mr. Mason, your suit is like Mr. Sebastian's!" Finn was right, Mason's suit was styled similarly to Sebastian's, but the white shirt that appeared to be under the waistcoat was, in fact, attached to it, hiding a custom made vest of an unearthly material. Mason's black pants were cut from the same cloth, so to speak, but had been tailored to appear like normal formal clothing. Another notable difference: Mason's tie was red, Sebastian's black.

"Is it? We must have the same tailor." Mason smiled and picked up the suitcases from where he had left them on the floor and gestured for Finn to lead on. "After you."

Finn nodded and eagerly led the way to the upper floor guest bedrooms, helping Mason locate his mistress's room by, gently, knocking on doors until receiving a polite reply and invitation to enter. "Lady Rachel, I helped Mr. Mason carry your cases up here!" Finn announced happily, dropping the suitcase under his arm at the foot of the massive four-poster bed.

"Thank you, I am sure he appreciated the effort on your part." Rachel nodded at the young gardener and returned his smile. Finn left the room with a big smile, happy that Mason and his Lady were nicer than Sebastian was. "Ugh!" Rachel sat down heavily in the desk chair she had been in when Finn had knocked. "I hate this so much."

"Which part?" Mason moved over to the large suitcase and opened it, searching through the clothes as he spoke.

"The dresses the most." She replied pointedly. "So stop picking out clothes for me." She all but growled, pulling out the pins holding her hair back from her face and using his hands to shake out the styled tresses.

"May I remind you that you nearly got me lynched the last time you picked your own clothes?" Mason asked, arching an eyebrow in his mistress's direction, and continued searching through the dresses.

"No, you may not. You promised to never mention that again." Rachel pouted at him then turned in her seat, reaching back to the neck of her current outfit.

"One, you made me promise that. Two, you cannot undress yet, you still have dinner." Mason lifted a periwinkle dress out of the trunk, still folded, and set it on the dresser.

"You could just bring it up to me, you know." Rachel turned around to face her butler, legs crossed and lips smiling.

"Or you could try to charm the young master of the manor before you attempt to broach the subject that brought us to this manor in the morning." Mason ignored her smile and picked up one of the smaller suitcases, opening it to reveal slippers in the same colors of the dresses in the large suitcase. "Will picking the shoe color make you feel better, my Lady?" Mason chuckled, holding out the shoe suitcase. He only barely managed to pull it back when Rachel aimed a kick at the case.

"What do you think, my-oh-so-helpful butler?" She smiled sweetly then spun to face the desk. After a moment, she asked, "Are the honey colored ones in there?"

"Of course, my Lady." Mason grinned to himself as he pulled out the specified slippers, setting them next to the dress. "You can uh...you can handle the underwear, yes?" Mason had only worked for Rachel for a few months and in that time he had successfully managed to avoid handling her underclothes, but now that would be almost impossible with her in the same room as him.

"As my butler and only servant, shouldn't you be comfortable with handling my underthings? Especially given the state that I am usually in at my own manor?" Rachel glanced over at Mason before resting her head on the desk. "Unless, of course, you're embarrassed to handle things like panties and corsets." Rachel smirked, lifting her head again and turning to watch his reaction.

"I-I'm not embarrassed by such things! I a-am just unfamiliar with them." Mason's face flushed as he realized what he had said and what it implied.

"Oh? So the man who so proudly points out with every chance he gets that has had more relationships than I could ever hope to have is actually a virgin?" Rachel's smirk widened and she leaned forward, a predatory gleam in her eyes.

"No, far from it. I've just...never had luck with the opposite sex..." Mason looked away from his mistress and set his mind to picking the right pair matching underwear.

"So you've only gotten naked with men?" Rachel asked, swiveling in her seat to fully face her butler.

"W-Well..." Mason rubbed the back of his neck, "not exactly." He set the selected underwear next to the dress. "I don't usually get undressed in front of people and I've not dated many women. Those I have...let's just say that I tend to attract cat fanatics."

"Oh, that is one thing that I can believe. Are you done picking out my clothes?" Rachel stood up and quickly ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yes, Ms. Rachel. Were you waiting until I was finished to head down to dinner?" When Rachel nodded, Mason bowed slightly, his right hand over his chest, and apologized. "I would have waited until later this evening if I had known."

"Don't be ridiculous. You know I'm going to need you by my side, especially if Sebastian is what you think he is." Rachel motioned for Mason to follow her and headed out for her dinner.

At the main staircase, Sebastian was waiting for them, a small smile on his face. "Your dinner will be served in one of the smaller dining areas. The young master is awaiting your arrival."

"We shouldn't keep him waiting any longer then, now should we?" Rachel swept her left arm in a 'lead on' gesture and returned the butler's smile. The tall man nodded and walked down the steps, leading the way to a room several doors down from the main dining hall. Sebastian opened the door for them and Rachel and Mason stepped inside, Mason escorting his mistress to a seat and pulling it out for her. "Mason, I can seat myself." She grumbled, taking the seat anyway.

"Very true, Ms. Rachel, but a gentleman pulls out a lady's seat for her." He replied quietly.

"I suppose." She shook her head and turned her gaze on the, barely, patiently waiting Earl. "So you are the infamous Earl Phantomhive. I actually expected someone..." She tapped her chin as she thought.

"Taller?" The young Earl supplied, his hands in his lap and his eye trained on Rachel. Sebastian moved to stand behind him just as Mason was doing for his mistress.

"Younger." The woman said. "I have only heard you described as a child. To me, a child is someone younger than ten years of age, or a person who acts as if they are that young. You must be at least thirteen, maybe fourteen." Rachel lifted her fork and speared a bit of the food on the plate in front of her. With her free hand, she gestured at Mason, who bent forward obediently. "Open." Mason opened his mouth and allowed Rachel to slip the fork in, closing his mouth and watching as she slid it back out, the food remaining behind. Straightening again, Mason chewed for a short while before swallowing and waiting for several minutes. Finally, he nodded. "Thank you," Rachel said to her butler before turning back to her meal and eating.

"Of course, Ms. Rachel." Mason replied, watching her despite having checked the food.

The Earl watched the entire event with some interest and while he normally would felt slightly insulted that anyone would think he would attempt poisoning them, the fact that it seemed so natural and that they both seemed aware of exactly who he was made it more instructional than anything else. "I doubt there many servants that willing to test their master's food for poison. How did you come by a person so loyal?"

"I imagine in the same way you did, Earl. Your butler has kept a very close eye on our movements since he met as at the stairs, ensuring that we are of no danger to you. Of course, I've noticed that your eyes are just as sharp. My apologies, I meant eye." Rachel smiled, ignoring the small tic that briefly made an appearance in the form of a twitching eyebrow.

"Ms. Rachel, I must confess that I am sincerely surprised that no one has attempted to kill you yet, with manners like those. Not to say I am not happy that no one has." Mason commented loud enough for the Earl to hear.

"Given that you are the one who tests everything for traps and the like, I would be concerned if you weren't happy." Rachel responded, the smile still on her face and no less sincere than before.

"You two have a very...different dynamic than most who bring their servants along when visiting the young master." Sebastian said after a moment. Both chose to ignore the observation.

"This is a very excellent version of kig ha farz. I wonder if I might ask you to teach the recipe to my butler. He knows only a few French meals and it would be wonderful if he knew this one." Rachel gestured politely at the dish before her, the meal already half-gone.

"It would be my pleasure." Sebastian replied, now just a little curious about the odd pace of the conversation.

"Perfect. Thank you." Rachel glanced at her plate then up at Mason. "Mason, would you-"

"No, Ms. Rachel." Mason did not look at his mistress when he responded to the unfinished question, looking about the room in an almost bored fashion.

"Oh fine." She sighed and continued to eat.

"Lady Rachel, if you don't mind, I would like to at least know why you requested to meet me before we finish here and you head to bed." The Earl said just as Rachel finished off her last forkful of food.

"Hmm...how about a game? You win, I tell. I win, I go to bed and leave you in suspense." Rachel's grin had turned a bit mischievous. "You can even pick the game. Doesn't matter what type."

"Ms. Rachel, if you start a game now it will be very late before you finish and I doubt the Earl wishes to remain awake until the wee hours of the morning." Mason glanced at the Earl hopefully then quickly at Sebastian when he saw that the young man was seriously considering the idea. Sebastian simply ignored him.

"Mason, would you mind if I use your dice?" Rachel asked, drawing her butler's attention back to her.

"Ms. Rachel, the last time I let you borrow my dice, you kept them for a week. Besides, I am sure that the Earl has dice that you can use, if the game requires them." Mason sincerely hoped that it wouldn't. It would not be a good idea to upset their host before discussing the matter that brought the two to the Phantomhive manor.

"I am willing to indulge the Lady's request. And if she wishes to use dice, I have a game in mind." The Earl smiled and gestured at Sebastian, "Sebastian, will you go fetch A Night in Wrath's Land?" Sebastian bowed and exited just as Mason made a small choking sound, which he cut short when Rachel discreetly maneuvered her chair so that the leg whacked his knee.

"Is there an issue?" She murmured, hardly moving her lips and keeping her gaze forward.

"He made a comment. It was funnier than I was prepared for." Mason answered, following his mistress's example. "Do you really wish to use my dice? They require cleaning."

"You polish those things every night, don't try to con me." Rachel almost laughed, but quickly bit it back. "Besides, I like them. They're pretty."

"I will make sure to tell my brother that you appreciate his work." Mason reached into the left side of his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of mahogany dice with tiny metal beads worked very carefully into the wood and, as stated by Rachel, polished nightly. "Just be careful with them, Ms. Rachel."

"Last I checked, the butler doesn't tell the mistress what to do." She replied with a grin, taking the dice happily. "Besides, when I have not treated your property with respect?"

"Yesterday. Last Tuesday. Last Monday, twice. Need I go on?" Mason muttered, mostly to himself, then turned his attention to the door where Sebastian was re-entering with the game box tucked under his arm.

"We happened to have kept the sample that was sent to you, young master." Sebastian presented the box and the Earl nodded.

"Excellent. Set the game up on the table." The table in question was not the same one as the table that Rachel had been eating at, but a small one set off to the side, the perfect size for the game board.

"Ms. Rachel, is it just me or does that table seem like it was set up beforehand?" Mason bent to whisper to Rachel this time, entirely certain that it wouldn't matter now if he was seen speaking to his mistress.

"Oh, so you finally noticed it?" Rachel asked as innocently as she could, if for no other reason than to tease Mason.

"Remind me why I accepted this job." Mason mumbled, this time to himself.

"Sometimes I think it's because you fancy me." Rachel replied happily.

"My brother is the insane one, remember?" Mason shot back as Rachel moved to the small table with the game board on top of it.

"You wound me, sir." Rachel deadpanned, sitting across from the Earl. She smiled at the young man and steepled her fingers. "So, Earl, shall we play?"


	2. His Lady, Her Game

"Ladies roll first." The young Earl replied, watching the woman across from him intently.

"Such a gentleman for one so young." Rachel smiled and picked up the dice. "Would you like to wish me luck, Mason?" She asked her butler as she prepared to roll.

"I'd rather wish the Earl luck." Mason replied, his eyes on the dice as they were launched at the table, tumbling through the air. "He's going to need it." He added as the numbers on the dice put his mistress on a safe square.

"Mason, would you mind if I use your dice as well?" The Earl was not asking, but Mason nodded his permission all the same, even as the young man reached for the numbered cubes. The Earl tossed the dice onto the table and when they stopped, the number put him on a bad square: "Angry spirits force the traveler back." Earl Phantomhive was forced to move his piece back two squares.

"Off to such a good start, don't you think, Earl?" Rachel giggled, grabbing the dice for her turn. "I suppose Mason was right to want to wish you luck." And with that, she rolled again. The game continued in the same fashion until its completion, with a few sudden leads from the Earl and some pitfalls on Rachel's part, but in the end, the Lady won. "You needn't have gone easy on me, dear Earl. It was entirely unnecessary, though very kind." Rachel said, smiling almost too broadly.

"You are a guest of the Phantomhive Manor, it only seemed polite." The Earl responded, taking Rachel's words in stride as he smoothed the front of his long coat.

"Oh, yes, very polite." Mason murmured to himself, sending Rachel into a small giggling fit. "My I take back my dice, Earl?" Mason asked to cover up his Lady's snickering.

"Of course. You have a very polite servant, Lady Landless. I must say that I would be very surprised if you said that he had no formal training." Though the Earl covered it up well, the sarcasm in his voice did not go unnoticed by Rachel or Mason, but while the latter of the two chose to ignore the comment, Rachel could not let it go.

"I thank you for the compliment and hope you do not mind me repaying it by saying the same of your own butler." She replied, all the while smiling at the young man seated across from her. "So, young Earl, since you lost, I believe that I can now treat you as those wonderful suspense novels would treat their eager audience. I will leave you to puzzle over the mystery of what brought me to your mansion for the night." Rachel stood and politely inclined her head at her host before moving for the door, Mason pulling it open for her without missing a beat. "Good night, Earl Phantomhive." Mason followed his mistress without a word, softly closing the door behind them

Burningburningburningburningburningburningburningburning

"That was quite foolish, making me cheat for you. If I hadn't helped him some, we would have had quite the time trying to explain." Mason scolded as he brushed Rachel's hair out, occasionally picking out stray hair pins that he hadn't caught before.

"Oh please, you enjoyed beating him at his own game." Rachel giggled, watching Mason work through her mirror.

"I admit that he's a bit of an arrogant little shit, but I think he's earned the right. We've not done nearly as much as he has for this country. And while his methods are somewhat disagreeable, you can't argue with the results." Mason ran a heated hand over Rachel's hair then chased it with the brush to almost completely smooth her hair.

"I don't understand why you have to brush it before I go to bed. You know it'll just get messy again." Rachel huffed, fidgeting with the hem of her night shirt, the most undressed she could talk Mason into letting her be.

"Oh, let me indulge myself, Ms. Rachel." Mason chuckled. "And besides, your hair is as unruly as the rest of you."

"That's a rude thing to tell your mistress." Rachel pouted into the vanity mirror.

"I thought you hired me to be honest, not polite." Mason ran the brush over Rachel's hair one more time then set it down. "There. Your hair is ready to be messed up once more, Ms. Rachel."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that when we're alone. I hate how formal it sounds. Reminds me of home." Rachel stood and turned to face Mason.

"Then what would you rather I call you?" Mason stepped back and turned to her bed, turning down the blankets for her.

"Suggest something. I'm curious as to what you would prefer to call me." Rachel hopped on the bed, impeding Mason's usual nightly duties.

Mason sighed and attempted to remove her without bodily tossing her off the bed, as he was also usually tempted to do when she purposefully got in his way. Can't damage the furniture though.

"You would call me Sigh? What an odd title to give your employer." Rachel giggled as she deftly avoided Mason.

"I would not call you Sigh. That sounds very odd." Mason was taking great pains not to jump on the bed after his mistress.

"Then what would you call me?" Rachel grabbed Mason's hands and pinned them with her knees.

"Hmm...very well. Maybe just Rachel?" Mason began inching a little closer. "Or maybe Mistress Rachel?" When she blushed, he chuckled. "Pervert."

"I am not! You just said it wrong!" Rachel wanted to back up now, but if she did she would free his hands and he would win.

"Did not. But since neither of those appealed or fit you, and you don't like Ms. Rachel how about..." Mason leaned in close and murmured, "My Lady." Normally Rachel would have protested, hell she had once punched a man for calling her 'Lady', but Mason said it…differently. There was an underlying sweetness to it.

"No fair." She pouted as he kissed her cheek and then suddenly flipped her onto the floor, having managed to get enough leverage to move her. "Definitely no fair!" She popped up from the ground to him kneeling on the bed and ready with another kiss, this time on her lips.

"My Lady, nothing is fair where we are concerned." He smiled and then handed her one of the pillows, which she quickly knocked him to the floor with. "Better?"

"Much. Now move along to your room. You cannot stay with me while we are in someone else's home." Rachel climbed into the bed and allowed Mason to cover her with the blankets.

"Only because you are a pervert." Mason chuckled, dodging a swipe from Rachel and hurrying out the door.

"I did hire you to be honest, didn't I?" She mumbled to herself as she blew out her lamp and turned over to sleep.

Out in the hallway, Mason leaned his back against his mistress's door and smiled. "Yeah, you did." He whispered.

Meanwhile, in another part of the manor, Sebastian was readying his young master for bed. "I don't believe I have ever seen you willing go to bed so early, young master."

"I must have a full night's rest if I am going to put up with those two tomorrow." Ciel held his arms out to the side so that Sebastian could undress him. "They act like children."

"I believe they were simply testing your limits. Hence the lady's eagerness for the game." Sebastian found Ciel's night shirt and redressed him in it.

"She cheated, I know that much. But I do not know how. Did you notice anything, Sebastian?" The young earl climbed into the bed and tilted his head so that his butler could untie the eye patch.

"Nothing, young master, but I know that there is something unusual about them."

"Unusual how?" Ciel turned his head to watch Sebastian set the patch down.

"They do not feel human."

Burningburningburningburningburningburningburningburning

The next morning, Mason quietly opened the door to the guest room that his mistress slept in. "Ms. Rachel, are you awake?" He asked softly. When there was no response, Mason continued further into the room and went straight for the curtains covered window at the back of the room. "Rise and shine!" he declared, shoving aside the drapes and letting the bright morning light shine directly on Rachel's face.

"Wha' the mafucka?" Rachel tumbled out of the bed, landing with a dull thud on the opposite side to Mason.

"Good morning, Ms. Rachel. It is approximately seven o'clock in the morning, meaning that Sebastian is likely going to wake the brat soon, so I must get you ready for the day." Mason said pleasantly as Rachel raised herself up enough to pop her head over the side of the bed.

"Why did I hire you again?" Rachel mumbled, attempting to brush the hair from her face.

"To wake you early enough that you would actually get things done. I believe that exact sentence is written in my contract." Mason smiled, and picked up the underwear that went with the outfit he had picked out the day before.

"It is not." The exact wording was close, but far enough off that she could claim he was wrong. "Must I wear periwinkle? I greatly dislike that color. Why not lavender?"

"Because I have already picked out this outfit, and the lavender was burned during a job. We have yet to replace it, due to your busy schedule." Mason turned to his now standing employer and let out a disappointed sigh. "When I asked you to wear the nightgown, I did not mean for only a couple hours." He informed Rachel, looking away from her nude form. "We are in Victorian London, not twentieth-century London."

"I know where and when we are. I got warm." Rachel shrugged and moved so that Mason could begin dressing her.

"Uh-huh. I swear you get off on diverting my attempts to make you a true lady." Mason muttered as he slid the panties up her legs. "I don't suppose that I can convince you not to wear panties and instead go with drawers?"

"If I have to answer that, you clearly don't know me well enough to be working for me."

"Again, just my attempts to make you more lady-like. You are the female equivalent of an earl. You have nearly as much land as young Phantomhive, definitely more money, and far more experience at…well, anything pertaining to life in general. And yet you refuse to behave like a true lady or even dress like one." Mason carefully adjusted the tied ends of the panties then moved to grab the chemise.

"You already lost that argument. Multiple times. Now hurry, we'll be late for breakfast." Rachel helped pull the chemise over her head and held the corset in place as he tied it. Comfortably tight.

"I can only go so fast, considering the unnecessary amount of clothing needed for the fashion of this era. No bustle, I assume." Mason said as he tried to rush through the rest of the process. "It goes corset cover, petticoat, then underskirt, right?"

"No, it goes petticoat, corset cover, then underskirt, since we are leaving out the bustle. My butt is plump enough without." Rachel wiggled her rump at Mason, who flushed and stumbled through the rest of the dressing, leaving Rachel in a fit of giggles for several minutes.

"Finished." Mason quickly moved to the bed and smoothed out the blankets as much as possible while Rachel fixed her hair, something she insisted on being the one to do. "I have never understood why you insist on styling it yourself. It generally looks a mess."

"Not everyone is a stylist, Mason." She replied, pinning her hair in place. "And besides, I like it being a mess. Means you never look away."

"I didn't to begin with." Mason sighed, collecting Rachel's nightgown and slippers and carefully sitting them inside the traveling trunk.

"If I remember correctly, when I first hired you, you avoided me whenever possible." She mused, humming to herself.

"And if I remember accurately, you cheated me into the contract. Wouldn't you avoid someone who cheats too?" He chuckled, moving over to Rachel to smooth out her clothes and check the pins holding up her hair. "All ready. Now, shall we finally end the suspense for our host?"

"If we must." She shrugged and headed out the bedroom door.

Mason shook his head and followed after her, quietly shutting the door. "This is gonna be a hell of a day." He muttered.


	3. His Lady, Their Investigation

"Good morning, Earl Phantomhive!" Rachel declared as she entered the main dining room, Mason trailing silently behind her.

"Lady Landless, thank you for joining us." The Earl responded, a plate of muffins in front of him. Mason thought it an odd breakfast, but it wasn't his job to comment. Not today.

"I apologize for my actions last night, Earl. We were sent here on important business and I allowed my childish sense of mischief to get in the way of our work." She bowed apologetically before she took her seat. She nodded at Mason, who moved to serve her food from the platter in the center of the table. "I failed to mention this, but I received a letter from the Queen. A letter requesting our help, but this time we were urged to seek your assistance." She pulled the letter from a hidden pocket and presented it to Mason in exchange for her food.

He nodded and walked over to the Earl, letter held out with both hands and a slight bow as the young man accepted the envelop. Mason moved back to stand behind his mistress as the young Lord perused the letter, the envelop with the Queen's seal held carefully in one hand.

The Earl replaced the letter in its envelop and set it on the table, turning his attention to the two strange individuals across from him. "Why did the Queen bring this matter to your attention rather than mine?"

"It was felt, by some advisers to the Queen, that your work load needed to be lightened after...certain events involving a baron were observed by an agent of Her Majesty." Rachel responded as she handed Mason a muffin from her plate. The man rolled his eyes, but picked at the muffin regardless.

"Certain events, hmm? Do you mean the fire that broke out during our investigation into Baron Kelvin and his connections to a circus that was suspected of child abduction?" The Earl was studying them across steepled fingers as he asked his questions.

"The only explanation for their decisions was that you appeared overworked after that case. I was approached because of Mason's unique talents and my own...history." Rachel replied, pulling pieces off her muffin and popping them in her mouth between sentences.

"I see. And yet, in this case, you have been advised to seek my help. Why?"

"My thoughts are that this is a test. To see if you can work well with others when needed. Or she just doesn't trust me to get the job done." She added with a shrug. "I have only served the Queen for the past few months. Your family have been doing this for years. Loyalty is everything, even if there are others to rely on."

"I will take that as a compliment, Lady Rachel. And since the Queen went to you first, I must assume that you are in charge, barring any instructions you have yet to inform me of." The Earl picked the letter back and handed it to Sebastian, who took it back to Mason. Mason stuck the envelop in a jacket pocket and nodded at the other.

"Actually, this is meant to be fully cooperative. We share the responsibility on this. Of course, should we fail, it is likely that this will be seen as poor work on my part." She shrugged again as she finished off her muffin and leaned back in the seat. "That aside, I will say that we have already done some work of our own before coming here. After all, we wouldn't want to waste the time of someone like the Earl Phantomhive." Now she smiled, waving her hand at Mason, who took a small packet from another pocket and handed it to his mistress. "From what we understand, corpses began to disappear from morgues a few months ago, mostly freshly deceased," Rachel said as she opened the packet and began pulling photographs out, "Unfortunately, this corpses did not remain missing for long," she handed several of the photos to Mason who moved to hand them to the Earl, deliberately bypassing Sebastian. He returned to his mistress's side without comment.

"I see. I take it that the bodies did not find their way back to their rightful place." The Earl replied as he studied the images.

"No. They were found in places that are very public and frequented by those of a higher class. The most perplexing part of all this, for the police at any rate, is the fact that all the bodies showed signs of recently being alive. Doctors employed by the police department found signs that the bodies had recently been alive and well, just hours before their discovery." Rachel pulled folded up pages from the packet and handed them to Mason to deliver up the table once more. "Those are reports written by several doctors asked to examine the bodies. You'll see that they all concluded the same impossible thing: at same point between the bodies disappearance and their discovery in these public areas some weeks later, they were reanimated."

"You say impossible, yet here you are. Even if you are on orders from the Queen, most would have abandoned this mission as insanity. After all, dead men walking the earth again? That is unbelievable, isn't it?" The Earl pointed out, once again studying his apparent partners.

"Oh, dear Earl, I think we have both seen enough in this world to know that few things are truly impossible." Rachel replied, a knowing smile on her face.

"Lady Rachel, I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I will admit that there are many strange things abound on this Earth."

"Not sure what I mean? Hmm, Mason did you perhaps get it wrong?" She asked, glancing up at her butler.

"Ms. Rachel, I assure you that I was not wrong. But perhaps a show of faith. After all, they have likely worked us out by now as well." The man responded, tilting his head in the direction of their counterparts. "Isn't that right, Sebastian?"

Sebastian, not one to miss anything that obvious, nodded. "Young master, it would seem that we were not alone in our suspicions."

"Mason will you demonstrate for them, so that we may have some mutual trust before we officially begin this partnership?"

Mason nodded and turned his attention to the Earl. "May I borrow a candle?" He pointed at one off to the side on a small table, moving to grab it when the Earl nodded. He set the candle in the middle of the main table and moved back. "I assume that Sebastian already worked out that we aren't normal." He stated, pulling off one of his gloves. "Of course, it's unlikely that you have deduced what we are. I am not permitted to say, but this may act as a clue." He snapped his fingers and a flame sprang to life on the wick. It danced brightly for a moment before snuffing out at his next snap. "Now that that is out of the way, do we trust each other enough for all present to admit that this case may be outside what is normally considered natural?" He asked as he moved the candle back to its original spot

The Earl was silent for a moment as he thought, watching Mason replace his glove. "Very well. Sebastian, it seems we need to make a trip into town. Bring the carriage around."

"Actually, Earl, I would much prefer it if we used mine. It's a little more….prepared for the unexpected. I assume you have associates that you can question. We can go see them as well as our own sources." Rachel scooted her chair back enough to stand and nodded at Mason, who left to get their carriage. "Now, Earl, I wish to ask something. How strong is your contract?"

The Earl gave no indication of surprise at her statement. After the demonstration, he figured they'd put the pieces together, not that there were many. "Strong enough."

"I hope that's true, because we're about to get into something dangerous, I just feel it." She said, a grin spreading across her face.

"We're ready to leave, when you are, Ms. Rachel." Mason informed them. "And, of course, you Earl Phantomhive."

"I'm ready when you are, dear Earl." Rachel said, offering her arm to the young Earl.

"Very well. Sebastian, get my traveling coat and cane. It would appear that we have a new investigation." Sebastian was already prepared, helping him into his coat before the young man took Rachel's arm and walked out to the carriage with her.

"Such a gentleman." She giggled. Mason opened the carriage door for them and helped his lady up the small steps. He stepped up into the driver's seat, pulling his coat from the seat and shrugging it on as Sebastian sat with him.

"Not going to join your master? Or are you just keeping an eye on me?" He snapped the reins after setting his cane beneath his feet, setting the horses into motion.

"The young master wishes to speak with your mistress alone and I have questions of my own."

"A demon like yourself asking questions? Well, we have the time and you will ask regardless. Might as well."

And so began the investigation into the oddly fresh corpses of London, an adventure that would more than likely take many an odd turn and possibly just as many dangerous ones as well. It would be their job to find the source of this recent disturbance to the city's peace and end it, if they can. Little could they know that this would be very unlike anything they had seen before.


End file.
